Winter came early this year. Between the snow and the frigid temperatures, November and December have felt uncharacteristically winter-like.
Between Montpelier meetings a few weeks ago, I stopped to watch the dedication ceremony for the new statue of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, at the top of the State House. My new-to-Vermont companion was amazed to see that hundreds of people had gathered around the State House, taking se…
In 1969, in a place far away, a young student in Mrs. Nelson’s sixth-grade class wandered the school library in search of a book. The assignment was to make a book report. Most of his classmates searched the current events section. The Vietnam War, race riots, the assassinations of Robert Ke…
Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, the head of U.S. Navy operations in the Middle East, was found dead over the weekend in his residence in Bahrain, the Navy confirmed.
I am compelled to respond to Mr. McClaughry’s unfortunate attack on the recent U.S. Government Climate Assessment.
If the purpose of our Iran policy is to bring stability to the Middle East, it can’t work. Long-existing internal Muslim animosities guarantee continued instability. All we do is exacerbate those existing tensions.
It’s hard to turn on the radio or visit your favorite online news source these days without coming across a feature story or in-depth series about the state of mental health treatment here in Vermont and nationwide.
Front-page news last weekend was about some 60 groups signing a statement to counter a 36 percent increase in hate crimes reported in our state between 2016 and 2017. This increase is also evidenced in figures across the U.S. and in Europe, as well — up 40 percent in England and Wales as rep…
Have you ever noticed that the loudest voice in the room is — frequently enough — emerging from someone so convinced of their own intellect that it leaves you speculating that maybe they’re incapable of feeling embarrassment? Well, it turns out that they very well may not be, because they’re…
Perry Green, Manchester GOP chairman, should know that none of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in America, since the process to create the U.S. did not even begin until they had signed. Many signers were born in English colonies.
The first couple days, I thought perhaps your layout folks had simply made a mistake. But after a week, I have come to the sad realization that you have replaced the "Non Sequitur" comic strip with "Beetle Bailey."
Every year around this time, we seem to find ourselves embroiled in some variation of the same debate: Is a particular song, film or TV special too problematic to remain part of the holiday canon?
This is in response to Mr. Perry Green's complaint that our Harvard-educated "former first lady" ought to have known that several of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were born in America and thus, were "born American."
John McClaughry’s column, “That really scary climate report,” disparages the recent National Climate Assessment. One might imagine that Mr. McClaughry is a climatologist or other expert, but he has no serious background in climatology.
With the cold weather here and blood supplies dangerously low, Rutland County residents once again have an opportunity to give a truly life-changing gift — at no cost.
In the Dec. 11 issue, Mr. Perry Green takes "a former first lady" to task for stating to a group of new citizens that they, like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, became Americans.
I want to thank the city of Rutland for another great Kids and Family Fun Day.
Perry Green, the Manchester GOP chairman, in the Dec. 11 Rutland Herald, takes a cheap shot at Michelle Obama without naming her. He criticizes statements she made more than four years ago at a naturalization ceremony for 50 new citizens.
John McClaughry's opinion piece in the Rutland Herald questions the recent climate report's "highly speculative projections." His role and that of the Ethan Allen Institute has long been to muddy the waters about how we view climate change and its impacts on our environment and us. As a mout…
Peter Berger’s recent commentary on the subject of violence in this country touched briefly on the changes in our society that have coincided with the rise in these occurrences. I believe this country needs to have a serious discussion on the subject of culture.
This letter is in response to Mr. Perry Green's recent letter seeming to chide our former first lady for pointing out (in 2014 at a naturalization ceremony) that the signers of the Declaration of Independence were not born in America. Mr. Green points out that “only 8 of the 56 signers were …
I am one who believes that women should be paid the same amount of money for the same work, [as men.]
What next? The recent news about several radio stations banning an old seasonal song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside," ("Me Too" movement) is absolutely ludicrous.
We are back to governing by ultimatum. And tantrums.
Place permeates everything. It’s a marker of culture, habits, pastimes, shared hopes and shared tragedy. It forms communities and lays out priorities for education. Place provides shared experiences and landscapes: vistas, lakes, stands of maples, green pastures and slate quarries. It bonds …
I am reading credible reports that Donald Trump is self-dealing from campaign funds, using campaign funds to pay personal legal expenses, and there are multiple admissions of his lawyer committing crimes at the direction of Donald Trump.
One thing you can usually plan on here in our state of Vermont is that Murphy guy; you know, of “If anything can go wrong, it will” fame.
The holiday season has arrived and brings not only celebrations, presents and decorations but also concerns for pet safety. There are many dangers to be aware of as you begin to celebrate this year. These includes specific types of plants, certain foods and even decorations.
Any push by Vermont organizations backing the ESSEX plan may face an uphill battle if France’s protests are any sign of sentiment.
On Nov. 23, the U.S Government‘s Global Climate Research Program delivered a Congress-mandated “National Climate Assessment” report. “Grim” is too weak an adjective for the terrors that the report describes.
Address of Senator Patrick Leahy On Threats To Journalists, And Defending Press Freedom Senate Floor
In the 44 years I have served in the United States Senate, I have never been more concerned about the state of press freedom around the world — including, I deeply regret to say, in our own country.
Vermont has a steep climb to meet its 2020 goal of insulating and air sealing 80,000 homes. It’s a worthy cause to make Vermont homes more affordable, more comfortable and more sustainable. But on our current trajectory, we’ll only meet about half of that goal; it’s clear we have a lot of wo…
A report issued last week by the Vermont Student Assistance Corp. and the Vermont State Colleges System shows a trend toward better completion rates and college retention in our state.
Tree of Life.
I want to thank the voters of Rutland Town for supporting me once again for re-election to the Vermont State Legislature. It is an honor and a bit humbling to represent the good people of Rutland Town in Montpelier. Each time I enter the General Assembly, I always remember who sent me here a…
Richard Nixon used every sneaky, evasive tactic in his criminal playbook to try and throw reporters off the trail of his Watergate crime.
Now that the excitement of the election has died down, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the people who supported me in my recent bid for the office of probate judge.
It’s that wonderful time of year when most, if not all, of us seem to be at our best. Shifting our interests away [from] ourselves to doing for others. For many, the inspiration comes from the celebration of Jesus’ birth. For some, it is a "festival of lights" celebrating the rededication of…
Over the years, the important question has been asked, "What can people do to make the world a better place?" How about "If we didn't live in a world of 'What's in it for me?' the world will finally be beautiful." Enough said.
I was talking to a friend about the holidays, and he commented that this time of year makes him think of two things: lots of food and an uncle who can’t resist telling painful puns at family gatherings. “I’ll bet you could write a column about food and bad puns,” he suggested. “In fact, I ch…
Our Select Board is to be commended for calling a special informational meeting of townspeople on Dec. 17 to discuss the proposed full-time recreation director position; it would be difficult for them to vet this proposal in time for voters to know what the ramifications are without a public…
Vermont is the only U.S. state to have mandatory labeling of food produced using genetic engineering.
In a new book published last week in Italy, Pope Francis declared that homosexuals have no place among the Catholic clergy.
Regarding the Sanders Institute's "Gathering," I was surprised to read about it in the paper the day before it took place, and again the day after, having never seen any publicity further in advance, or received registration information by mail or online.
I was briefly but deeply relieved to hear the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to talk about Yemen. But what we all know we need is to stop the genocide immediately.
I was thrilled to stand in the midst of hundreds of fans cheering our Goddess of Agriculture, as she was blessed and elevated to her third term atop the Golden Dome of the Vermont State House. Ceres was first placed on the dome in the mid-1800s, and is Vermont’s third wooden sculptural inter…
In his article titled “Dems, get some religion,” in the Dec. 1 Times Argus & Rutland Herald, John Nassivera reproaches the Democratic Party for, in his view, embracing secularism and in effect ceding the votes of committed Christians to the GOP. He cites statistics published by the (aptl…
Most Vermonters would agree that the varied seasons are an essential backdrop to the quality of life in Vermont: the breathtaking colors of our forests in the fall, the winter snows that let us ski, sled and warm up in front of the fire, maple syrup and muddy roads in the spring and cooling …
The statue of the Roman Goddess Ceres was hoisted up on to the top of the capital building in Montpelier after a new creation of the old one was replaced.
When George H.W. Bush announced his candidacy for the presidency, in October 1987, Newsweek ran its cover story titled “Fighting the ‘Wimp Factor.’” The clear implication of the story was that Bush (the youngest American combat pilot in WWII, a war hero, diplomat and CIA director, who served…
